SpyBot Search & Destroy for Mobile

Malware be gone!

With mobile phones becoming an everyman’s first point of access to technology, isn’t it just a matter of time before hackers decided to concentrate solely on these? We use banking services through our phone, pay our bills, access our email, etc., making phones the ideal target for data thiefs.

Thankfully, spyware and malware aren’t as ubiquitous on cell phones as they are on computers. Still, there has been an increase in the number of reported threats on handheld platforms and it seems very likely to go up exponentially.

One of the best tools to check the threat of spyware and malware on PCs has been Ireland-based technology firm Safer Networking’s SpyBot — Search & Destroy. The company has now ported its popular program to the world of mobile computing with the launch of Spybot — Search & Destroy Mobile Editions.

Spybot Mobile uses a lightweight version of the original software to primarily detect threats on Windows Mobile phones, although it also scans some Symbian-based platforms. The possibility of the latter being infected is rare, the company says, but adds that they could act as carriers for malware to infect other phones.

Taking up a mere 2.6MB of disk space, the installation is smooth and simple for even a layman. And those who have used the PC version of Spybot will find themselves right at home.

Starting the application, the home screen is quite idiot-proof. There’s a ‘Scan’ button at the bottom left, hitting which starts the program.

Now, users are advised to be a little patient, as the scan can go on for half an hour, depending on the size of your memory card and the amount of data you have on it. Still, you won’t be running this every day, so it’s a small price to pay for a once-in-a-while application.

Once you’re done with the scan, the usual options of Quarantine, Remove, etc., pop up. Perform the appropriate action and you’re good to go!

As of now, the program lacks the kind of real-time monitoring tool that the PC version comes with. While this feature is not really needed at the moment, it might be so in the future.

Still, given the amount of protection it’s providing for the free price-tag and the tiny size, Spybot is a must-have on your smart-phone.